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What is this awesome thing you call Think-Pair-Share???

Well...it....
-is a SDAIEstrategy developed by Frank Lyman and his associates at the University of Maryland in 1981.
-gets its' name from the three stages of student action
-collaborative working strategy in which students work together to respond to a question
-encourages "wait time" and peer interaction
-effective for all ages of students from early childhood to middle school and even high school
-enhances skills in listening, sharing information, processing, communicating, summarizing, and paraphrasing others' ideas.

When can you use Think-Pair-Share??
  • before a lesson or topic to recall previous knowledge
  • during teacher modeling
  • during checking for understanding
  • at the end of teacher instruction, demonstration, or explanation
  • to break up a long period of instruction/activity
  • to share ideas
  • for clarification of homework, activities, or lessons
  • for introducing a lesson

How does Think-Pair-Share work??

THINK: the teacher first poses a question, observation, or problem. He or she will then give the students time to think about it for a few moments.

PAIR: the students will then pair up with a nearby neighbor or deskmate to talk about and discuss their ideas, thoughts, and answers they came up with. They can compare their mental or written notes and identify responses that are the most original and/or convincing.

SHARE: after students pair up and discuss, the teacher will either call on students or ask students to volunteer to share their responses and their thinking with the whole class. The teacher may record their responses on the board.

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Why should you use this great strategy in YOUR classroom??

Students need opportunities to talk and elaborate on their ideas. More importantly, this strategy offers ELL students time to reflect and process their thoughts from their native language to English. It also offers a chance to increase their personal communication, allowing ELL students to talk about their ideas with their peers using BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) language. They will be able to discuss their ideas in a comfortable setting where they will not need to worry about grammar or pressure from their peers. It also reinforces confidence in the students and provides modeling for the students in saying words, sentences, or academic language correctly.

As for the teacher, benefits include being able to hear from all students, even the shy and quiet ones. It further allows the teacher to observe the students working collaboratively in pairs and further provides immediate feedback for the teacher in assessing the knowledge of the students. It will determine whether the teacher needs to re-teach or review material previously taught.